Friday, January 29, 2010

Butchart Gardens

The Butchart Gardens is a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, near Victoria on Vancouver Island which claims to receive more than a million visitors each year.

History

Robert Pim Butchart (1856–1943) began manufacturing Portland cement in 1888 near his birthplace of Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife Jennie Butchart (1866–1950) came to the west coast of Canada because of rich limestone deposits necessary for cement production.

In 1904, they established their home near his quarry on Tod Inlet at the base of the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island.n 1906, Jennie created the Japanese garden there with the help of designer Isaburo Kishida. In 1909, when the quarry was exhausted, Jennie set about turning it into the Sunken Garden, which was completed in 1921. They named their home "Benvenuto" ("welcome" in Italian), and began to receive visitors to their gardens. In 1926, they replaced their tennis courts with an Italian garden and in 1929 they replaced their kitchen vegetable garden with a large rose garden to the design of Butler Sturtevant of Seattle.

In 1939, the Butcharts gave the Gardens to their grandson Ian Ross (1918–1997) on his 21st birthday. Ross was involved in the operation and promotion of the gardens until his death 58 years later.

In 1953, miles of underground wiring was laid to provide night illumination, to mark the 50th anniversary of The Gardens. In 1964, the ever-changing Ross Fountain was installed in the lower reservoir to celebrate the 60th anniversary. In 1994, the Canadian Heraldic Authority granted a coat of arms to the Butchart Gardens. In 2004, two 30-foot totem poles were installed to mark the 100th anniversary, and The Gardens was designated as a national historic site.

Ownership of the Gardens remains within the Butchart family; the owner and managing director since 2001 is the Butchart's great-granddaughter Robin-Lee Clarke.

In 1982 the Butchart Gardens was used as the inspiration for the gardens at the Canadian pavilion opened at Epcot Centre in Orlando Florida.

Birds

While Mrs. Butchart collected plants, Mr. Butchart collected ornamental birds from all over the world, having a parrot in the house, ducks in the Star Pond and peacocks on the front lawn. He built several elaborate birdhouses for the gardens and trained pigeons on the site of the present-day Begonia Bower.

Statuary

Several bronze statues are displayed in the gardens.

One, of a wild boar, purchased on a Mediterranean trip in 1973, was cast in Florence, a replica of a 1620 bronze cast by Pietro Tacca. It is called "Tacca" in honour of the sculptor and, just as the original's, its snout is shiny from the many visitors rubbing it for luck. Another, nearby in front of the residence, of a donkey and foal is by Sirio Tofanari. A fountain statue of three sturgeon, also by Tofanari, is installed near the Japanese garden. In 1993, "Circle of Doves", which Ann-Lee Ross gave her husband Robert Ian in 1991 to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary, was installed in front of the begonia bower.

Entertainment

In the early days, weekly symphony concerts were hosted by Mr and Mrs. Butchart. These were often held for guests of the family, but later attracted a larger audience. More recently, in the Summer Season (July and August) and during the Winter Holiday Season they provide a wide range of local entertainment, from Jazz to classical music. Also, The Weeds, a band made up of staff members from The Gardens, sometimes plays during the Summer Season. In 1977, Ian Ross's son Christopher (1944–2000) introduced fireworks on summer Saturday evenings. During the Winter, lights and seasonal decorations adorn the gardens along with an ice-skating rink in the Waterwheel Square.

Pictures and information has been taken from Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butchart_Gardens

5 comments:

Don't you just love people who plant gardens and trees? Reminds me of this line by Milosz: "Only in the beauty created by others is there consolation." I've always wanted to visit Vancouver Island and this is just one more reason for me to go. One can't help but believe these were happy people with their love of flowers, art and birds.